NEWS: Wildlife Management Package Supports Broadened Strategies for Game Management and Tourism

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 14, 2013

Wildlife Management Package Supports Broadened Strategies for Game Management and Tourism

JUNEAU – Today, Representative Andy Josephson (D-Anchorage) introduced three bills designed to broaden Alaska’s game management goals and strategies.  This legislation acknowledges the value of wildlife to all Alaskans and the wide range of uses of game, as well as the importance of wildlife to the tourism industry.

House Bill HB 170 creates a buffer zone near the border of Denali National Park where wolves may not be hunted.  This bill recognizes the economic importance of the tourism industry, especially in Denali National Park, which offers visitors the opportunity to view wildlife including wolves and other predators. 

House Bill HB 171 removes the requirement that wildlife must be managed to produce an unnaturally high yield of moose, caribou and deer to increase hunting success.  The Board and the Department of Fish and Game would continue to have the ability for predator control when game populations are at risk and to support the constitutional sustained yield principle.

House Bill HB 172 says the knowledge and experience of board members must reflect all game uses. This includes subsistence and sport hunting, trapping, tourism, wildlife viewing and scientific study.  One member of the Board of Game must be predominantly a non-consumptive user of game to reflect those uses of wildlife.

“As Alaska’s population increases we must hold onto our hunting ethics, including fair-chase principles, and manage our wildlife scientifically, rather than deteriorating into a game farm,” said Rep. Josephson.

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